Community members line up to get toys, household items, and more during a Denver Police outreach event on Friday, August 6, 2021 at Capitol City Mobile Homes in Denver, Colorado. (Katie Klann/The Gazette)

Community members line up to get toys, household items, and more during a Denver Police outreach event on Friday, August 6, 2021 at Capitol City Mobile Homes in Denver, Colorado. (Katie Klann/The Gazette)

Three Denver City Council members are developing a plan they say would make the city more friendly to mobile home parks.

While no action was taken Monday, council President Jamie Torres updated the council’s Budget and Policy Committee on the latest discussions on mobile home parks.

She along with council members Candi CdeBaca and Jolon Clark have led the effort to revamp Denver's zoning and building codes to support mobile home owners.

Their districts are home to Denver’s five mobile home parks, which house around 300 families. Torres added that many of these homes are over 50 years old with their own safety issues.

Torres said mobile home parks are the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the U.S. and that Denver’s zoning code is one of the “most hostile” toward mobile home parks nationally. They are also commonly designated as “non-conforming.”

State lawmakers recently passed legislation adding protections for mobile home owners looking to buy the mobile home park where they live. But because of Denver’s policies, they can’t take advantage of the new state law.

Denver’s zoning code prohibits mobile home owners from replacing their old homes with newer and safer homes. Residents are also prohibited from obtaining necessary financing to purchase the park should it be posted for sale, and there is no zoning for mobile home parks in the city.

“We’re discriminating against this housing type and we’re trying to create a space in the code to allow it,” CdeBaca said. “Those changes are necessary in a lot of these parks for safety concerns, and right now if you try to make them safer, you essentially displace people. So we’ve got to figure out something, and this is an opportunity for us to discuss it.”

Their plan has three prongs: First, Denver would enact a moratorium similar to one previously issued in Aurora prohibiting redevelopment of the parks while a workgroup examines the proposed policy changes. Second, the city would adopt an amendment to the zoning code allowing for the replacement of old units with new ones. Third, the city would create a district for mobile home parks, which would be the most extensive, long-term part of the process.

Ideally, the moratorium would be issued this summer, with the amendment taking effect in early 2023, supporters of the plan said. The city would work to create a district for mobile homes through 2025.

Jill Hennings Golich, deputy director of Community Planning and Development, said the proposed changes wouldn’t result in a one-for-one unit replacement because the building code requires a separation of at least 5 feet between each home.

Some homes in Denvers parks are as close as 3 feet apart, so other changes would need to be made to bring in a new unit. Torres noted that some parks have vacant units the park owners have purchased with the intent of further spacing out when units are replaced.

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